photo: state.gov
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met at the State Department with Sigrid Kaag, the UN's chief coordinator for humanitarian relief and reconstruction in Gaza.
Minister BLINKEN: Good afternoon. It's a great pleasure to have here my friend and colleague Sigrid Kaag, the UN coordinator for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Gaza.
Over the past week or so, we have been trying to address the pressing issues that make it difficult to provide the necessary humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza who so desperately need it, particularly with regard to the security of supplies and those who provide the aid. I expressed these concerns clearly and directly to the Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, when he was here a few days ago, and I think we have seen some progress in recent days in terms of Israel committing to addressing some of the needs that the United Nations in particular has to ensure that it can deliver aid more effectively and more safely.
We are still faced with the problem that aid is getting into Gaza but then cannot be distributed effectively, primarily because of real security problems. So, when it comes to ensuring that food, water, medicine and other basic necessities that the Palestinian people need to survive reach them, we still have important work to do. It is good that Israel is addressing these very specific needs, and it is important that it is addressing them, but they need to be implemented as quickly as possible. There is no time to lose.
And I'd also like to hear from Sigrid what the current needs and requirements are to make sure that both the UN and private donors, all countries working together in an effort to help the Palestinian people who so desperately need it, how we can be more effective. Please, Sigrid -
MS KAAG: Thank you.
Minister BLINKEN: It's good to see you here.
MS KAAG: Thank you, Mr Secretary, and of course my friend Tony, but also the Secretary of State of the United States. I'm glad to be here.
It is indeed a very critical period. I am responsible for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2720, which was born out of political necessity in the face of ever-increasing humanitarian needs, reaching almost catastrophic conditions at the time the resolution was adopted in December. It has been a very difficult and trying time for the civilians in Gaza and, of course, for the families of the Israeli hostages who continue to live in deep uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones.
But the focus of my mission is on the civilians in Gaza - getting the volume, quality and predictability of aid they so desperately need, given that they have fled their homes - 1.9 million people are displaced. They are surviving in tents. Almost everything imaginable is missing. So our challenge is really not only to get aid into Gaza, but also to be able to distribute it safely and reliably.
And I'm not just speaking for the United Nations family. It's also for the NGOs that risk their lives every day - in their presence, Palestinian NGOs as well as international NGOs. It is a very difficult operating environment, particularly for civilians, but also for those who are trying to help. And that is the ongoing dialogue in which the support and leadership of the United States is so critical for the United Nations to succeed.
Likewise, if there is any hope of a ceasefire agreement, it is also important that we take stock and focus on early recovery needs - health facilities, getting children back to learning, anything that forms part of what we would all consider human dignity for our fellow human beings. And that is a shared commitment, and in that regard, the ongoing discussions with the Israeli government, which have the strong support of the United States leadership, particularly Antony Blinken, are extremely important.
Minister BLINKEN: Thank you.
MS KAAG: Thank you.
Minister BLINKEN: Thank you, everybody.
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